Hey! When I first started this story, I'd expected to get, at the most, 60 reviews after I'd finished the entire story. Only on chapter eight, and already have 60+ reviews! Love you guys. Speaking of reviews, it appears that those who have reviewed about the previous chapter have taken a side against Robin... hmm. I'd take a while before judging. Anyways, the pressure is gone for me, which means I can actually sit down and write. So that means maybe an update per week? We'll see. ;)
This is the chapter with the surprise so I really hope you guys enjoy it. I was going to have the surprise start from the beginning but then I decided against it. Enjoy the cliff hanger. ;)
An extra surprise for all my readers...you know how a long time ago, I promised you guys you would get Derek's POV? Need I say more?
()()()
As a kid I never trusted people. Maybe it had something to do with my mother ditching me in foster care. I always stayed away from the other kids in the families not because I didn't like them—okay maybe a little bit because of that—but because they all had perfect lives and didn't want be ruining the equations of their existences. Eventually Kit and Simon found me and rescued me. It took a while for me to adjust to them, but they became my only family after that. Anyways, asides from them, I never trusted people; especially girls. From grade eight to sophomore year; I was that ugly acne covered nerd kid who was foster brothers with Simon Bae. Girls made fun of me for being the scrawny kid and hating the attention, I spent most of my time at the gym or in the library.
Simon forced me to join the football team in the first month of sophomore week and I got the quarterback position. A few weeks after that my acne cleared up; suddenly I was the objective of the school's attention. Girls wanted me, and I gladly entertained them. I got rid of them after I got what I wanted. It made me a womanizer, a player, a cold hearted jerk; but I didn't get hurt. And that was what mattered. I never cared about what a girl thought about me, because all girls were the same. Some did rupture my plans, but I always managed to convince myself that they'd eventually let me go, like my mother had; so I let them go first.
I was content with living a life where I would remain single but always taken. But then some five foot nothing blonde girl with big blue eyes walks in and decides to break those walls. Chloe Saunders was not extravagantly gorgeous. She did not have the body I normally went for. She did however have a timeless beauty and her eyes added to that... and a stubborn personality. She stood up for what she believed in and didn't always take no for an answer. In short, she was not a slut or easy. Something about her aggravated me to no end, but I enjoyed it. She was a question of a girl that I had yet to figure out and I loved questions.
But that was the problem, when I first started training her and took her to that dinner date thing; it was mainly so I could figure her out. Maybe seduce her? But it turned out that she irked in me more questions than she did answers. And so I started doing the idiotic thing; developing a crush on the blonde, but the more one night stands I had to get rid of the crush the less effective they were. When she came running to me after the pig's head incident, something inside of m lurched. A feeling of protectiveness, of power and raw emotion overwhelmed me. And then I knew that the crush was no longer tiny. After she moved rooms, and then started dating Robin, I couldn't hate her because she didn't knowingly cause me pain.
But I worried for her. There was something off about the British boy. I couldn't place my finger on it. My doubt about him soared when he knew all those cooking tricks and wrist flicks. The wrist flick I was attempting to teach him was one I learned when I took fencing classes. Some of the spice combinations were from the cold nights I spent by myself in the wilderness in extensive survival courses. Those were not things one mastered on their own. And as media proclaimed cuisine specialist, I would know.
And the fact that he had his nineteen year old girlfriend in his house while his guardian was out was more suspicious. Chloe didn't give off the appearance that she was the type to give in to demand, but having her parade around his house in his clothes said something. And it wasn't, "I'm protective of my girlfriend" Robin seemed to be using Chloe for something. And that something wasn't as trivial physique, because there are always other people—legal people—for stuff like that. Which made me wonder; if a twenty year old, attractive guy is using a girl, but not for pleasure... then what is he using her for?
I pulled out of reverie and headed towards the booths, where all the students did their cooking. I was surprised to find Chloe there. She looked different. Her hair was in a high ponytail, her clothes wore more form fitting than usual, and her makeup was startlingly sharp. She looked gorgeous now. Jealousy burned in the pit of my stomach when I realised it was probably for Robin. I stopped ogling her and cleared my throat. (She hadn't noticed me yet)
"You're early" I remarked. Startled, she looked up quickly. I stood there, hands in my pockets, looking at her.
She nodded, somewhat relieved. "I wanted to get an, um, early start"
I licked my lips, running a hand through my hair. "Join the club"
She smiled slightly. "Do you always arrive early?"
I tilted my head arrogantly. "I'm the instructor; it's in my job description to be here early"
Her face soured, and she stopped smiling in second. "Don't have to be such a jerk about it" She mumbled.
I smirked slightly. I had a great sense of hearing as well as taste and smell. Stepping closer, I said, "What was that sunshine?"
Her eyes darkened. "Don't call me that"
I rolled my eyes. "So, what did you say?"
She cleared her throat. "I said you didn't have to be such a cocky, arrogant, self promoting jerk about it"
I left my face the same way, but inwardly I was impressed. I sort of expected her to stand up to me.
"Oh stop Chloe, you're making me blush" I said.
She groaned.
Not being able to help myself, I said, "Isn't that the sound Robin's supposed to elicit from you?"
She glowered at me.
Realising I'd gone too far, I changed the topic. "So, did you put more makeup on for your boyfriend?"
The fire left her eyes and she rolled the cerulean blues, while a faint hue took place on her porcelain skin.
I grinned. "Ooh, so you did put on makeup for him"
"Shut up Derek" She said, shoving me. I didn't budge an inch.
"Okay Chloe" I said.
She laughed a little, and slipped away. "So" She began. "What do you do when you get here early?"
"Prepare lessons" I stated, crossing my arms.
"So you restarted your 'one night stand' thing?" She asked, disproval lacing itself into her voice.
I sighed inwardly; when was she going to let that go? "I'll do as I please" I said sharply, my voice hardening near the end. She looked slightly taken back, before returning to normal.
"And I'll ask as I please. Now tell me, why'd you go back to your one night stands?" Her chin lifted upwards, and I could see the bossy little girl surfacing. She must've been a real kicker when she was younger.
"Well," I start, unsure of how to continue. I want to tell her the truth, but I know that she's unbelievably happy with Robin, and she doesn't need me confusing things by adding myself into the mess. I don't want her avoiding me because of my confession. I won't say anything until she and Robin start to get more serious, or he mucks up. "I haven't met the type of girl you mentioned at our dinner"
She rolled her eyes. "Once again, maybe you're not looking hard enough"
A smirk replaced my somber expression. "Yeah, she's probably closer than I think"
Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly, get Simon or Liz to set you up on blind dates. I have a few friends who might work; Miranda—nah, she's probably dating someone. Oh! Beth!—she'll work quite well"
I laughed. "I was joking, but thanks for the suggestion"
Licking her lips, she pulled out her phone. The device vibrated, meaning she'd received a text. I grabbed a spoon, reflecting the image her phone projected onto the silverware. It was a text from Robin. See you in like twenty minutes. There's a closet beckoning us forth afterwards. Then we've got to pick Jules up for your shopping trip.
She texted back, Okay, I've got a great list of places to go to. Oh and closets are stupid, we can go to Linda's.
I snorted, and her eyes snapped towards mine. If she was blushing before, she was a fire truck now. She said goodbye to Robin, and tucked the phone into her pocket.
"Well, um, I'm going to go to the bathroom...I'll see you in a minute" She said, stumbling away awkwardly. My eyes darkened the moment she left.
Stupid Robin, he wasn't even here and he was ruining the moment.
During the lesson I had to keep stopping midway through my explanations because there was something utterly off about the way Robin kept looking around the room, at Chloe, at everything surrounding him. A kid here to learn does not look around a room like he's looking for a weapon stock and the quickest kidnap and escape room. I've watched enough spy movies, done enough CSIS training, taken enough psychology classes and have enough common sense to know when someone's acting suspicious.
After the lesson was finished, I turned my phone back on. (I normally turned it off during lessons or instruction sessions) I had one miscall, and it was exactly the miscall I needed. I dialed the number up, and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello, this is Chase Markwood, investigator for CPD"
I grinned. "Hey Markwood"
"Souza, I called, you didn't answer" Chase says, his voice taking a teasing accusatory tone.
"I was in the middle of something" I said.
"Mm, don't get me started on that, so give me a chance to get all the papers and I can fill you in over coffee?" Chase asked.
"Yeah sure, you know the place"
I hung up, gathered my things and walked off. "I'll see you all tomorrow"
"Wait, Derek—you said that we were all going to have dinner together tonight" Simon said.
"Sorry bro, I have an update" I explained. Simon grinned. "So that means I'm not forced to sit with you at a table?"
I didn't answer, and walked away. I heard Simon yell in joy.
()()
Chase was a good friend of mine. He was one of my fellow nerd friends who became a jock. Only Chase wasn't a womanizer, he always stuck to one girl. All through high school he dated one girl, then they took a break during University, and then they got back together in our second year but Marissa—the girl—got into a car accident. She died in the ICU. Her best friend, Clarisse, and Chase slowly became friends during their grievance period. Chase graduated University with the highest honors (alongside me) and got a job with the CIA. He Clarisse started dating after graduation, they're engaged right now. He is currently working at the CPD undercover.
I slipped into the coffee shop, waved at Chase and walked over to his booth and plopped down. "How's Clarisse?"
He grinned. "Great, although her mother doesn't seem to like me at all"
I rolled my eyes. "I empathize with that poor woman. It would be terrible to have someone like you marry into the family"
Chase casually flipped me the bird, and took a sip of his coffee.
"Hey, you didn't wait for me" I complained, grabbing a donut off of his plate and shoving it into my mouth.
Chase groaned. "Derek, please"
Smirking I said, "I don't roll that way man"
"Somehow I doubt that" The waitress, Emily, said. Chase guffawed, while I gave the ginger a glare. Emily was another friend of mine—an actual friend—she was probably one of the few girls who didn't fall to my feet. We met in University. She was a psychology major, and last time I checked she was only working her as a bet. She and Chase had a running bet about something unbelievably stupid, stupid enough for me to forget about.
"I'm guessing the usual?" She asked, not looking even the slightest bit intimidated.
I nodded, and Chase added another donut (with a glare) to his list.
After Emily had left, I raised my eyebrow at Chase, who pulled out several dossiers and handed them to me. I took them and placed them on the space next to me.
"Okay, so the first thing I need to tell you is, that I can't give you these files; not legally" Chase said.
I thanked Emily for my usual-coffee and three glazed donuts- took a sip and waited until she had left before responding. "Okay, what do I need to do so that I can get the files legally?"
Chase reached into his pocket and withdrew something. He carefully placed it on the table. A shining CPD badge looked at me, and I bit my lip. I'd always wanted to be a police officer, but I didn't really like the surveillance idea of the job. I wanted to be solving mysteries and busting people, not detailing people or filing reports. I'd gone to the Academy, and quit afterwards. I could be a police officer if I wanted to, but I didn't want to.
"Chase, you know I don't like patrolling and detailing" I said.
Chase shot me a grin. "Look a little closer Souza"
I leaned forward and noted that the badge had the words; CSI written on it. I looked back up at him and said, "No way Chase. I thought you were CIA?"
He shrugged. "I am, but I've got friends who know you from the Academy. I told them about your dilemma, and they said they could use someone like you for CSI. It's a permanent job"
"With pay? I don't think I deserve it, lots of people really want this position" I said.
Chase scratched his hand. "Yeah, but, they're only giving it to you"
"How soon will I get the files?"
"Right now, only you have to agree to discuss the job. Legal work will be done tomorrow"
I nodded. "I agree. Now tell me, have you looked at the files?"
Chase shook his head. "No, I haven't bothered to. I will, if you want me to. They were pretty easy to find, so I'm guessing it's nothing to serious. Breaking in / entering and stalking?"
I snorted. "Stalking should be taken more seriously"
Chase smiled. "So it is stalking?"
I nodded, stretched and took a donut from my plate. I told him about the case, starting from the beginning to the end. When I was done, I sat back and took another swallow of the coffee.
Chase's easy going demeanour was gone, and a frown replaced it. "Shit, Derek, that's not good. It wasn't labeled very well. I'd grade this as at least, an Echo"
"That's what I thought. I was going to label it as a Foxtrot"
Chase scratched his chin. "Get back to me after you've read the files, and then we can see the detailed seriousness of them. I might be able to get in some of my CIA and FBI contacts"
I thanked Chase, told him I'd see him later and went home. I took a shower, ate some food and graded and tasted some of the recent cuisine entries. I reviewed some early software application forms that had been delivered recently. A phone call interrupted my peace.
"Derek Souza speaking" I answered, placing the phone on speaker.
"Hello Mr. Souza, this is detective Marx, I was placed on your case. I wanted to inform you not to let anybody enter the crime scene. No one other than yourself and Miss Saunders"
"No worry, no one else is entering the scene" I reassured, before bidding goodbye and hanging up.
I called Chloe and waited until she answered. "Hello?"
"Hey, I just wanted to tell you this; make sure not to let anyone enter your ex-room" I said.
"Okay" She huffed. She sounded like she was panting, and sweating.
"Hey Chloe! Come back here" The unmistakeable voice of Robin shouted out.
"Who was that?" I asked, even though I already knew.
"Oh, it was Robin. Um, can I call you back Derek? This is kind of a bad time; I'm in the gym right now"
"No need to call back, that was all I had to say"
I hung up and placed the phone back down. I got to my feet and grabbed the files Chase had given me. One was a forensics on the room, the alarm clock and the pig and the second was a list of suspects. The suspect list consisted of your average thug, nobody that would actually be able to enter this place. I checked to see who was working that day, and who had swiped in earlier. I hauled my laptop over and looked through the footage from all the camcorders on the left wing where Chloe was originally located. I wrote down all the times when they were disabled, and tried to see if I could access any street cams. But there weren't any street cams that I could access right now (legally) so I did some research on the pig. Turned out the pig was a rarity, and according to the files, for the pig to actually be in that state it had to have been killed at max, one hour before Chloe found it. The rest of its body had been found in the dumpster, and they did an autopsy on the pig to see what it had eaten in the last twenty four hours, and they found a special type of food mix which was made by only one farmer. The food mix consisted of oats and a few other things. I recalled buying a pig from a special farmer who fed his pigs that type of mix and I called him up to ask if anyone had bought a pig on that date or the day before.
He gave me three numbers and said he'd only had three orders and pickups that week. He sent me pictures of the pigs sold that day, and apologized saying he didn't know ate moment who bought which pig. He also sent me the camera footage on his farm for that week so I could see exactly who had bought the pigs. The first people to arrive on the farm that day asides from Gustav himself, was a family of four; the children looked to range from six to three years old. I saw the pig they took home and paused the video to compare it to the severed pig head only to find that they were completely different. The next person was a young couple, and the pig they brought back was also different. The last person appeared to be in their early twenties, with tan skin, rumpled brown hair and hazel eyes. He returned with the final pig of the day, and when I compared the picture of the severed pig head to the pig, I grinned; perfect match. I printed the snapshots with the suspect and placed them in a folder. I wrote down his number on a sticky tack and was about to stuff it into the folder when someone knocked on my door.
I opened the door, already knowing it was Chloe, because she had a specific knocking noise; rap...rap rap rap rap...rap.
"Hey Derek" She said, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide.
"What happened?" I asked, when I noticed the dilation of her pupils.
She coughed, "Someone broke into my flat again. This time there was another letter and something else. I think you should see it"
"I will, but first tell me if you're okay" I crouched down, connecting our eyes.
"I-I'm fine" She said stubbornly. "Can I call Robin?"
I bit my lip and lied. "I don't think so. First I'll have to contact a few people and then we'll see what they say, okay?"
She nodded. "So no one else is allowed in my old apartment right now, right?"
"Right, now let me grab a jacket and then we can go. First I want to visit your old apartment, take a few pictures and check some stuff. Then we'll go to the recent one" I said, rushing to grab a jacket while shutting my laptop and stuffing it along with the files, away. When I was done I ushered her out before locking the door and leaving, but not before I'd grabbed the badge Chase had given me as well as the gun.
We went quickly to her first apartment, and I was glad to note that there was nothing different about it. I opened the door, and let her in. We looked around for a few minutes, Chloe usually behind me. She walked over to her ex bedroom, and looked at the bed. "Oh wow"
My head snapped to hers when I heard her muttered words. "What?"
She shook her head, not really focusing on me. "The other two items are placed exactly the same way these ones were"
I frowned. "Copy cat?"
"No, more like a continuation"
My eyes darkened and I walked over to the windows. "Do you think someone could've climbed through?" She asked.
I shook my head. "No, I doubt it. The pig's head was severed somewhere else which means that the person would have had to carry it in, and there's no way it wouldn't have left a blood trail"
She walked over to the living room and peered through the window. "We should head to the courtyard; we'll be able to find a blood trail if there is one. The courtyard—"
"Gives a perfect view of this end" I finished for her, nodding in appreciation.
We looked around for a few more minutes before we headed to the courtyard. Chloe walked around and sat down on the bench, swinging from side to side. I glanced at her clothing, and noted she was sporting shorts and a light green t-shirt. The wind blew, and a strong scent shoved right into my nose. I'd always had impeccable and inhumane hearing, which Chloe didn't have, judging from her lack of expression. I followed the scent and smirked satisfactorily, when I saw the faint blood trail scaling up the wall to Chloe's apartment's bedroom window.
"Found it" I said, and waited until she'd jogged over before continuing. I pointed to the trail and said, "It's thin, which means someone washed it away, but didn't see this trail"
She shrugged. "Or decided to leave it for us to see"
I cocked my head at her, "Good point, and forensics can confirm that"
"Are you working for the CSI?" She asked, nodding at the badge attached to my belt.
I nodded, "Yes, pretty recently"
She didn't respond much after that, but I swear I heard her say a hushed, "Cool"
We strolled around for a bit more, making sure we hadn't missed anything. Then we decided to head back to her most recent dorm.
Once we reached the dorm I noted that several girls were looking at me, their eyes wide and lips trembling.
"What happened?" Mila asked, crossing her arms. I didn't like her very much; she was rude and didn't have a filter.
I frowned. "Nothing that concerns you" Turning my head to the rest of the group, I announced: "All of you get back into your own dorms. Now"
I waited until they entered one single dorm, before locking the door to the room from the outside. Only I had that kind of power. I sent Chloe a smirk before opening the door to her dorm and waiting for her to enter before entering myself.
"So how do they know what happened?" I asked, not moving until she answered.
"They tried to break into my room, and when they finally noticed I was there they wouldn't leave until I let them in. Then they just rush in and then they see what's on my bed, and I end up yelling at them until they leave" She said quietly.
I laughed. "Fun neighbours"
We walked into her room again, and immediately I had to suck in my breath. There was an overpowering smell of blood in the room. My eyes rested on the letter laying flat across her bed. To the left of the letter were three vials of blood. From the distinct aroma, I had a sinking feeling that the blood was human.
"It looks fresh" I said.
Chloe shrugged. "I can't tell. I haven't touched the letter in case there are finger prints on the letter or something poisonous"
I licked my lips, running a hand through my hair. "There weren't any fingerprints in the first letter, so there probably won't be any in the second"
She sighed. "Now what do we do?"
I pulled out my phone and waved it. "Call the CSI. Meanwhile, make sure you don't touch anything, I want to be able to trace the path"
She nodded, and crossed her arms. She blew a strand of hair away from her face, looking down at the ground.
A quick call to my apparent fellow agents, and they were here immediately. Six people showed up; two females and four males. They all seemed to be in their early twenties except one of the males. One of the girls had short brown hair while the other had long blonde hair. The brunette introduced herself as Katelyn while the blonde introduced herself as Jenna. The first of the three guys had curly dirty blonde hair, his name was Karl. The second guy had gelled brown hair (Max) and the last guy had black hair that was neatly brushed. (Matt) The last male, the oldest, had short black hair with streaks of grey. (Agent Kane)
Kane extended a hand and I shook it. "I'd wished to meet under better circumstances"
"Join the club. I'm Derek Souza"
Chloe extended her hand and Kane shook it. "I'm Chloe Saunders, and I'm the one being targeted"
Kane nodded. "Have you seen anyone following you or anything like that?"
Chloe continued to talk to Kane while I led the rest of the crew around the room, pointing out the several mishaps. We did a few finger print swabs and Karl used this homemade device that scanned a general location for footprints. Max, Karl, Katelyn, Matt and I worked on a few other parts of the room while Jenna checked the windows and walls for any suspicious issues.
After an hour or so we finished up. Kane had at least a block of notes from Chloe and several ideologies and motive ideas, while the rest of us had multiple clues and interesting tidbits. In all, it was a really interesting experience with a lot of possibly good outcomes.
"So let's head back to my room, where I have a few files that we could go over" I said, as we left.
The group nodded and we made our way back to my room. I opened the door, ushered everybody in and shut it. I walked over to my laptop, and scoured out the video. Then I pulled out the folders I'd put the information in and handed them over to Katelyn to look at.
"Okay, so tomorrow we'll need to find the location of the suspect with the pig" I announced.
Chloe laughed. "That just sounds so odd"
Kane looked at her, before he broke out into a small smile. The CSI team's members jaws dropped, and I swear I heard a camera click. I raised my eyebrow at Katelyn.
She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "There's a legend that in the service that in the thirty five years that Kane has been an agent that he's never smiled once. This is literally the most monumental moment in existence. Jen and the idiots are probably texting the picture Jen took of his smile"
I looked around and chuckled softly when I noticed the way everybody had their phones out, texting away. Kane must've noticed too, because he immediately stopped smiling.
"Play the video" Kane said, crossing his arms.
I pressed play, and explained everything as we went. When it came to the person who had bought our pig, I paused the video and zoomed in on him. Chloe, who was talking to Jenna, looked up. She frowned and moved closer.
"Who is that girl?" She asked.
I scratched at my head. "Which girl?"
She pointed at a car and when I looked closer, my jaw dropped. There, underneath a car, a girl was lying down. Her hair was tied up and she was wearing all black.
"Oh my God" Chloe said, her jaw dropping.
We all turned to look at her, apparently she had a lot surprises in store.
"I know that guy! I met him in a park on the second day here! He was mentioned in the first letter I received"
I licked my lips. "What park?"
She frowned, thinking. "I don't know"
"I'll take you around some of the parks, and then you can tell me" I said.
Chloe nodded. "Tomorrow okay?"
I nodded. Kane and Karl made some notes and asked if they could see Chloe's first apartment.
"But first, I hear you're a good cook Derek. Make some hot chocolate" Katelyn said, smiling.
I laughed and went over to the kitchen. Chloe sat in the living room, talking to the crew. Apparently she could make friends quite quickly. My mind was focused on the task at hand, while I was silently listening to the conversation. It was casual until someone asked Chloe if I was her boyfriend.
She laughed, not a sarcastic laugh, but a nice one. "No, he's just a friend and instructor"
I was pleased to note that she didn't mention Robin. I handed out the hot chocolate and sat down next to Kane. We talked for a while Kane even shared some of his theories before we decided to head to Chloe's old dorm.
When we got out of the elevator, I noticed that the door wasn't locked and some of the tapes had been moved around. I turned sharply to the quiet group behind me and pressed a finger to my lips while simultaneously withdrawing my gun. The rest of the group withdrew their guns and inched forward.
From the corner of my eye I noticed Chloe's eyes widen. I shook my head at her and she stayed back.
Kane moved forward quickly and busted the door open. The rest followed suit.
My jaw dropped at who was standing inside the supposed to be locked room.
Chloe shoved her way forward and her jaw dropped. Something clenched in my stomach because of the look in her eyes.
"Robin?"
()()()
HOW WAS THATT?
Not going to lie, that was a fun chapter to write. That was a pretty long chapter though, (5,423) words without AN's. So I'm expecting some happiness, so to speak. LOL anyways what do you think? I still stand by what I said earlier about waiting before taking a side with Robin.
Anyways, (I say that a lot), but 'zx45' reviewed asking how many chapters were left in this story, and my response is; I actually have no idea. This story when I planned it was not meant to be more than, say, about 30 000 words. But look where that went. Can't say I mind it, but if I really consider it... maybe (don't quote me on this) 20 more chapters? Or maybe like 10 + chapters. But we'll see guys, we'll see.
So ... DON'T YOU JUST LOVEEE THE STORY COVER... IT'S BEAUTIFUL ISN'T IT?! Well, I didn't make it. The lovely Zoe Isabel did, and I'd absolutely LOVE all of you guys if went and reviewed and favorite all of her brilliant work. ;))))
But, there never is just one person to thank in life, so I guess I better start now; A HUMUNGOUS THANKS TO ALL THAT REVIEWED SUGGESTING IDEAS AND GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT. AS WELL AS TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED. Your reviews make my day, and frankly, a day of hw and school, requires lots of happiness. But I love school, so yah, whatever. I feel like I've rambled long enough, (some of you probably hate these long AN's but have to deal with them)
Love,
~SE
